News

Board Treasurer – TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland)

TRACS (Traditional Arts & Culture Scotland) is looking for an experienced Treasurer to join its Board of Trustees.

TRACS is a co-operative network which champions our shared traditions of music, song, storytelling, dance, crafts, customs and local languages.  Find out more from our website www.tracscotland.org.

The Treasurer is responsible for having a clear and detailed understanding of TRACS’ finances and financial policies.

In conjunction with the Finance and Risk Committee, the Treasurer will provide governance-level direction, advice and support on fiscal matters.

In Brief

  • Role Title: Board Treasurer
  • Member of/elected by: Board of Trustees
  • Reports to: Board of Trustees
  • Main staff contacts: TRACS Chief Executive Officer and Finance & Administration Officer
  • Term of Office: Three years (with re-election up to 2 further times)
  • Position: Voluntary (unpaid); reasonable expenses

 

Could this be me?

Alongside a strong understanding of financial reporting, forecasting, management, policies and procedures, our ideal Treasurer would also have a keen interest in the Traditional Arts.

How much of my time would it take up?

The TRACS board meets 4 times a year for up to 2 hours at a time.  Meetings are held in person or online. In the event of an in person meeting, we will reimburse travel expenses and meet any access needs.

The Treasurer plays a crucial role on the Finance and Risk board committee, which meets an additional 4 times a year, around 1 week in advance of board meetings.

Additional time is also required for reviewing papers ahead of meetings (sent at least 1 week in advance) and liaison with relevant staff – in particular regular check-ins with the CEO and Finance & Administration Officer; for our annual Development Day; and for the occasional board training session.

How to apply

If you’re interested in joining the board of TRACS at a crucial and exciting time in its development, please send an email to recruitment@tracscotland.org outlining your interest and providing details of the relevant skills, experience and/or qualifications you would bring.

A full role profile can be downloaded here.

If you would like any further information or to have an informal conversation with Board Chair Andrew Bachell before applying, please email him to arrange a suitable time.

TRACS has a strong commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Fair Work.  We encourage applications from candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy, or maternity.

We also welcome applications from young people or those interested in applying for their first position as a Board Member.

Deadline for expressions of interest: 17:00, Monday 2nd December 2024

News

Tree of Memory Honours Storytellers

This week, storytellers and audiences are invited to gather at the Tree of Memory in the Storytelling Centre to hear stories of our great tradition bearers, and add a leaf to honour their elders and celebrate their own memories of lives well lived.

The Tree of Memory by artist Katie Warner is created from willow forms the centrepiece to four Tree of Memory events during this year’s Scottish International Storytelling Festival:

Mon 28 Oct, 4pm
Edinburgh-based storyteller Claire McNicol hosts a celebration of Irish and Scots storyteller Audrey Parks who has been described as the founding mother and grandmother of Scotland’s storytelling renaissance.

Tues 29 Oct, 4pm
Liz Tulloch hosts a celebration of her father, well-known Shetland storyteller Lawrence Tulloch who was a familiar voice on BBC Radio Shetland and wrote for many magazines and newspapers.

Wed 30 Oct, 4pm
Storyteller Tim Porteous and Festival Director Donald Smith host a celebration of Edinburgh storytellers Jack Martin and John Fee. Jack Martin who died in 2023, became a storyteller after a lifetime as an entertainer, puppeteer, and stand up comedian. John Fee who died aged 80 was known as a master of storytelling and performed regularly at the Waverley Bar’s Guid Crack Club and on the Netherbow stage.

Thu 31st Oct, 4pm
Douglas Mackay hosts a celebration of David Campbell with a basket of blessings to all absent friends. David Campbell is a writer, broadcaster, poet and an acclaimed international storyteller whose repertoire ranges from ancient Celtic epics of Ireland and Scotland through stories of adventure, romance, faith, love and quirky comic tales.

Donald Smith Director of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival said:

“Stories are passed between the generations. Our Tree of Memory honours the elders – those who are preciously still with us, and those who have passed on. We invite everyone who wishes to honour a storyteller in their life to add a leaf to our Tree.”

The Tree of Memory events are presented in partnership with To Absent Friends and Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief and are supported by the Scottish Storytelling Forum.

 

News

Marking 35 years with Stories

The Scottish International Storytelling Festival continues until 31 October

Next week, guest storytellers from Berlin arrive in Edinburgh to share stories and films from their divided and reunified city to mark 35 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. This milestone coincides with the founding year of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival, which runs until 31 October and takes place at the Storytelling Centre, and various venues in Edinburgh and across Scotland, thanks to support from Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government’s Festivals EXPO Fund.

The Festival’s German strand kicks off with West-East-West – Stories from a Still Divided Germany on Tuesday, 29 Oct, 8pm. Supported by the Goethe-Institut, guest storytellers Carsta Zimmermann, Kristin Wardetzky, and Peter Hofmann will be sharing stories of their experiences in, and since, the early 1990s in Berlin.

Curated by Rachel Clarke who currently lives in Berlin and works in theatre, these guest storytellers include actress Carsta Zimmermann who moved to a squatted house in the newly reunified East Berlin in the 1990s where she and her brother, director Jan Zimmermann, built a theatre and performed Shakespeare in the summer and Grimm’s fairy tales by the fireside in winter; Kristin Wardetzky, a storyteller and professor of theatre in education, who moved from East to West Berlin and introduced a storytelling course to the University of the Arts; and Peter Hofmann, who went from being at home in the cosy independent music scene of 1980s West Berlin, to playing his part in the emerging club scene in the East of the city.

This event will be complemented by a screening of a documentary film by Horst Edler on Wednesday, 30 October, 5.30pm, How to Bring About a Peaceful Revolution?, illustrating the peaceful revolt that was witnessed during the fall of the Berlin Wall when people brought down the power of the Stasi using music, caricatures and satirical slogans. The footage includes unknown stories told by eyewitnesses at the original locations, pictures of current actions, events, and posters to commemorate the Peaceful Revolution.  Some of footage shown will also be from scenes at the Zion church or Zionskirche 35 years ago. This patriotic landmark stands at the highest point in Berlin and was a meeting place for opposition groups in the mid-1980s, it was also where vigils were held for members arrested by the Stasi, and as a result, became the home of the civic movement that campaigned for the end of the GDR.

Daniel Abercrombie, Associate Director, Scottish International Storytelling Festival said:

“We are delighted to welcome our international guests from Berlin and the Storytelling Arena to take part in this year’s festival. Our theme this year is ‘Bridges Between’ and it feels even more fitting than ever that at a time where literal, figurative and societal walls continue to be constructed everywhere we try to look beyond these boundaries and continue to build bridges between us using the universal power of storytelling.”

Hanna Dede, Director of Goethe-Institut Glasgow said:

“Storytelling is the ideal medium for exploring complex narratives from various perspectives. When we learned the Scottish International Storytelling Festival shares its founding year with the fall of the Berlin Wall 35 years ago, we felt it was the perfect opportunity for the Storytelling Festival and Goethe-Institut to team up in commemorating this event.

We are excited to cooperate with our partners in bringing storytellers from Germany to Scotland to share their stories about this pivotal point in German history, which set off the process of unification – still ongoing and shaping the public debate to this day. Horst Edler and Storytelling Arena delve into the topic by including perspectives from East and West Germany, thus creating an atmosphere to listen and learn from each other – a prerequisite for anyone truly committed to building bridges. We hope the Storytelling Festival will continue with this remarkable work for many more years.”

Kate Deans, International Officer, Creative Scotland said: “As the Scottish International Storytelling Festival celebrates its 35th anniversary, it continues to connect local and global stories. Creative Scotland welcomes the Scottish Government’s Festivals Expo Fund, supporting new commissions and uniting storytellers and musicians from Scotland and abroad, covering regions as diverse as Andalucia, Siberia, the Celtic Isles, and India.

This year marks an exciting moment as the festival hosts UNESCO City of Literature delegates from around the world. As Edinburgh celebrates 20 years of its UNESCO designation, these delegates will also be able to explore the festival’s rich programme of events during their time here.”

Other international guests performing this year include Jeeva Raghunath who shares stories from the folk lands of India, and Irish guest storyteller and broadcaster Nuala Hayes who founded the Dublin Storytelling Festival, and will be joined by Irish musician Aoife Granville for two events celebrating the life of storyteller, seanchaì and author Peig Sayers thanks to support from Culture Ireland.

For the full programme, visit sisf.org.uk

News

A Talk by Birgit Ellinghaus at the 2024 European Folk Network Conference

Birgit Ellinghaus is Director of Alba KULTUR, an organisation based in Cologne, Germany which specialises in global music cultures ranging from classical, non-Western music and orally transmitted traditional music, to contemporary fusion and crossover projects, that all express the concept of cultural diversity in a globalised world.

Birgit was a speaker at the 5th European Folk Network Conference, Kaustinen, Finland, 24 September, 2024.

We spoke a lot about Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), yesterday and today, mainly in rural, peaceful territories: the Nordic Countries, Scotland. We saw all these great examples. And today the majority of the European population lives in urban regions of very pluralistic societies due to migration of many different kinds: we have “recruited skill workers” who came and who are still coming to Europe, we have blue card holders, we have international students, we have displaced people from war zones or, in the future, maybe because of climate change, refugees coming to the Nordic zones, because they can’t survive any more on the small islands in the Pacific or the Indian Ocean. So, they all have different cultural identities, they have different kind of food, languages, music, instruments, rituals, religions, understanding of the universe and nature. This is the cultural baggage they carry along here to this European territory.

So, I’m going to start with some questions about the term “new Europeans”. Are there new Europeans and old Europeans? And who are the old Europeans and could we really use this term? Do we really have a European identity? Would the communities from the rural North identify themselves first as Europeans? Or do they have their local identity and the term European is put as a political identity on top? And do we want really ask to migrants from non-European territories to assimilate in Europe and to have an European identity? And in this case, what kind of European culture do we ask from them? And do we really want to name them “new Europeans” and ignore and reject by this attitude their own roots in other (non-European) cultures? Or is there a new grown identity by a community of people living in urban pluralistic societies in Europe that we could name, now or in the future, European? All these are very dynamic and multifaceted questions. I would just pledge to avoid in this debate Eurocentric views or post-colonial wording and classification.

And all this is in a broader context which has given us, not only the convention on ICH, but also the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which stands for the diversity of individuals and their rights to be recognized equally through their cultural expression and to allow their cultural expressions and identity to flourish and develop freely.

This is why we call the UNESCO Convention of Cultural Diversity the “magna carta for contemporary creation”. This is a convention, which has a different position within all the other UNESCO conventions, because only this convention has a binding power over the ratifying states. All states who have signed up with the UNESCO Convention for Cultural Diversity have to implement this convention and all its rules and knowledge and concepts into their society, into our society and into intergovernmental relationships with other countries. Europe has ratified as an entire network of states and each state within Europe has ratified this convention too [Ed: not the UK]. We have to see that the ICH convention is nice to have, but it has no legal binding power. The UNESCO Convention for Cultural Diversity has this legal binding power. And through this different concept we can say both conventions are sister conventions, and the ICH convention is carried through the Convention on Cultural Diversity into a more powerful meaning, because, through the convention of cultural diversity, the ICH convention gets the relevance of being implemented within the concept of cultural diversity.

This is the concept which gives us access to the cultures from migrants of all kinds, which should be included on an equal basis into our cultural political debate and into our actions. Both conventions are commitments to artistic freedom, for fair working conditions of artists and creatives and other cultural workers, because around each artist you have such activists and many of you reading this are activists as well.

And this diversity convention is a commitment to pay particular attention to vulnerable and marginalised people in all territories. It highlights the systematic inequalities and imbalances in cultural exchange that continue to exist at a local level, at regional, national and global levels. So, this is a tool, the cultural diversity convention, which makes us act in our relationships, and through these relationships we express what we mean with communities.

And I just would like to finish to give you some brand-new information, because last week we all got a new tool to help us act in this diverse cultural landscape in Europe: it’s the Fair Culture Charter, which has been worked out after the World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development MONDIACULT in Mexico one and a half years ago by a number of national UNESCO committees from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America. All together it was a really collective process that drew down and squeezed some rules, specifically for the cultural sector, from these UNESCO Conventions. But it also brought in international laws, such as those concerned with the status of artists, something which had been recommended already in 1980, by the UN’s Human Rights Declaration, by some UN-approved economic, social and cultural rights laws, and, lately, the Sustainable Development Goals.

This Fair Culture Charter is the complete application of all these diverse tools for the cultural sector and it has been broken down to eight principles. I won’t name them all, but they include: access to diverse culture expressions and resources, non-discrimination and gender equality, local development… These are principles of this Charter which gives us now really power to act. And I call to all of you to get on the internet and the website www.fair-culture.org and to countersign this Charter and to spread the word. Everybody, individuals and organizations, can sign this Charter and this could be a very powerful tool for us, similar to what we know already these many years from the fair-trade movement. So, we would like to start a fair-culture movement with this, which helps to implement our mission in the field of music.”

News

Scottish International Storytelling Festival Kicks Off Next Week

There’s just one week to go before the world’s largest celebration of storytelling begins.

The 35th Scottish International Storytelling Festival’s packed programme of over 130 events, taking place in Edinburgh and across Scotland, kicks off next Friday 18 October thanks to support from Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government’s Festivals EXPO Fund.

Since it began in 1989, the festival has been building bridges between cultures, artists and audiences through the power of storytelling. And, this year, to mark its 35th year, which coincides with 35 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the festival has invited international storytellers from the Storytelling Arena in Berlin to join them, and share stories and films from their divided and reunified city.

Other international guests also invited to perform this year include Jeeva Raghunath who will be sharing stories from the folk lands of India, and Irish guest storyteller and broadcaster Nuala Hayes who founded the Dublin Storytelling Festival. Nuala will be joined by Irish musician Aoife Granville for two events celebrating the life of storyteller, seanchaì and author Peig Sayers who lived most of her life on The Great Blasket Island off the coast of south-west Kerry. They will also be entertaining audiences with Stories and Songs from Ireland at the Aberdeen & Beyond Storytelling Festival (22 Oct); in Edinburgh as part of the main programme (23 Oct); and as guests at the Wild Goose Festival in Dumfries (18-25 Oct); thanks to support from Culture Ireland.

Unmissable Gaelic highlights this festival include, the premiere of Cath Gailbheach nan Eòin The Desperate Battle of the Birds told by Scottish storyteller James MacDonald Reid in English and Gaelic throughout. This classic Gaelic folk tale will be shared in the traditional manner by James but with a contemporary twist, as it will be intertwined with live electric cello music by Scottish-Korean musician Ryan Williams. Plus, experimental folk duo Burd Ellen will premiere their new multi-media performance Òran Mhòir which explores the Gaelic lore of the intertidal zone and mixes costume, film, folk song, electronic sounds and field recordings, with stories told by Eileen Budd from Angus. Eileen will also be in Angus as part of the festival’s Go Local programme in November, for a weekend of crafts from the glens, Halloween history and folklore, and fireside ghost tales at Balintore Castle.

Other events not to miss include The Dream of Al-Andalus, told by Sef Townsend and Inés Álvarez Villa and accompanied by flamenco guitarist Danielo Olivera and Moroccan musician Omar Afif. Al-Andalus was a vibrant era of cultural diversity in mediaeval Spain, where the interplay of Muslim, Christian and Jewish cultures sparked an artistic and intellectual renaissance. These cultures are fully represented by this group of artists who aim to evoke Al-Andalus, not as a relic of the past, but as an inspiration for a more tolerant future.

The Festival’s opening weekend also coincides with the October school holidays and there are plenty of family friendly events for children this year including; face painting, crafts, storytelling and songs presented by the Beltane Fire Society for Samhuinn; the premiere of a new sensory version of the traditional tale The Bouncy Billy Goats Gruff, suited to children with additional needs, their families and friends with storyteller Ailie Finlay and artist Kate Leiper; A Jaunt Round Auld Reekie with the Ceilidh Crew n’ Co performed with stories, music, comedy and puppetry; and a retelling of an ancient border ballad in Into the Woods: In the Footsteps of Thomas the Rhymer narrated by celebrated actor Julia Munrow and with music composed by multi-instrumentalist John Sampson and played by Pete Baynes.

This year there is also a great selection of Edinburgh 900 events to look forward to, including a visit to St Catherine’s ‘Oily Well’ in Gracemount, known for its healing properties with storyteller Jane Mather, and an opportunity to join storytellers Jan Bee Brown and Beverley Casebow at the National Library’s exhibition Renaissance: Scotland and Europe, 1460-1630 to hear true and traditional tales of Stars, Secrets and Sea Monsters. In addition, Edinburgh will celebrate 20 years since its designation as the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature, with a conference from 22-25 October, which aims to bring together all the subsequent cities of literature in the network, and connect them to writers and literary organisations in the city.

Global Lab returns with four online workshops exploring intangible cultural heritage; present day Gaza through the voices of children and young people; stories from India; and Scotland as a slaver nation. In addition, the festival’s in person workshop programme kicks off in week one with Emotional Literacy with Storytelling with Peter Chand,  adult ADHD through the lens of folktales with Jacqueline Harris in Slowing Down to the Speed of Light which is also part of the Festival’s latest podcast series Another Story;  and how stories can break down inhibitions, build cooperation and celebrate difference in Telling Across the Divide with storyteller Sef Townsend.

The Scottish International Storytelling Festival runs from Friday, 18 October to Thursday 31 October. Tickets to family events cost just £5 per ticket. For those planning on attending multiple events, the Festival Supporter Pass offers discounted tickets to many live festival events, online and at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, as well as a discount at the Scottish Storytelling Centre’s bookshop, Haggis Box Café and an invitation to the Festival launch event.

To purchase tickets and browse the full programme, visit sisf.org.uk.

News

Trad Talk 2024 – Roots Not Tethers

Sat 26 Oct | 10.30am – 4.15pm
Scottish Music Centre | Glasgow

Trad Talk is the Traditional Music Forum‘s annual event which brings together folk involved in traditional music in Scotland to discuss key issues in the trad scene today.

Roots Not Tethers

How We Got Here – And Where We Go Next:
How the trad scene in Scotland has developed and what the future holds

Keynote Speaker: David Francis

We have a fantastic lunchtime performance by Beatha – a vibrant folk trio hailing from Glasgow. Despite this just being their first year together they have already won awards and plaudits, including a Danny Kyle Award earlier this year. The band brings together the diverse talents of Iona Reid (keys), Kenneth Macfarlane (whistles), and Cam Lawson (bodhrán). Drawing inspiration from across the globe, Beatha infuses traditional folk melodies with a contemporary flair, resulting in a captivating musical experience.

Welcome music will be provided in the morning by the Magnus Turpie Combo. Since coming together to play at the Battle of the Folk Bands final during Celtic Connections 2024, the band have performed at Girvan Folk Festival, Piping Live, and local festivals and clubs in Edinburgh. Magnus helped to pilot the ‘inclusive’ offerings for both ‘Live Music Now Scotland’ and ‘Feis Rois Ceilidh Trail’ during 2023, and in March this year, Magnus and Dom from the band joined ‘Ester and Iseabail’s Kitchen Ceilidhs’  tour of Skye, raising awareness of Down’s Syndrome and challenging stereotypes.

Lunch will be provided.
Free event but ticketed.

Schedule

10.30am – Registration and coffee
Welcome music provided by the Magnus Turpie Combo

11am – Keynote / Q&A
David Francis

11.40am – The Need for Reflection
Jo Miller

11.55am – Panel: Education Formal
Josh Dickson, Rachael Duff, Gayle Brown (Moderator: Pamela King)

12.35pm – Panel: Education Non-Formal
Arthur Cormack, Sarah Northcott, Neil Wood (Moderator: Simon McKerrell)

1.15pm – Lunch

1.45pm – Performance
Beatha

2.15pm – Traditional Music Forum AGM

2.45pm – Panel: Musicians (older)
Martin Hadden, Patsy Sedden, Christine Kydd

Panel: Musicians (younger)
Jenn Butterworth, Sally Simpson, Jen Anderson (Moderator: Lori Watson)

4.05pm – Closing remarks

4.15pm – Close

BOOK YOUR TICKET HERE

News

Festival Exhibition by Sarah McFadyen

Take Me To New Lands & Then Take Me Home
Opening Event: Sat 5 Oct 3pm to 5pm. All Welcome. Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1SR

A new exhibition of paintings by Orcadian artist and musician Sarah McFadyen explores the line between the worlds of fact and fable, and the place where land and sea meet, as part of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival this October.

Take Me To New Lands & Then Take Me Home combines new paintings alongside some previous pieces from Sarah’s last exhibition ‘The People of the Sea’ which was inspired by author David Thomson’s accounts of the legends of the selkies, and displayed at Orkney Museum in 2023.

Sarah is passionate about the power of creativity and where it can take us. She is fascinated by the edge of the land and the sea, where the known meets the unknown, and her paintings share a common thread about moving beyond what is near and known, crossing over into the ‘otherworld’ and then returning with new riches to enhance the cherished treasure and beauty of the place to which one returns.

Being brought up on an island, her childhood was spent playing on the shores and cliffs; one foot firmly on the ground, and one foot in the sea, underworld, rest of the world… dreaming. It is here that the root of her expression lies.

Whether painting in the landscape or in the studio, Sarah’s work is led by intuition as much as possible. She takes representational elements into consideration but mostly her work is about capturing emotional energy and atmosphere. A lover of good stories, Sarah’s inspiration for her work often comes when walking and thinking about how things were in days gone by, projecting herself into the future and finding links and different ways to open up ideas and conversations.

About the artist

Sarah McFadyen is an Orcadian artist and musician originally from the Island of Hoy who currently lives and works in Pathhead Midlothian. After finishing school, she went to Edinburgh College of Art to study sculpture. There she became involved in the music scene and has been working as a professional musician for the last 20 years. Much of what she has painted over the years has been to compliment a musical idea, but around five years ago, she discovered intuitive expressive painting which is where her practice sits today.

In 2020 Sarah won the Fitzroy Prize for Painting and in 2023 she went on to exhibit her work at the Orkney Museum in Kirkwall.

Exhibition Launch

Festival Programme

News

Scottish Music Playlist (40) – New Releases

Give your ears a treat with our latest Scottish music playlist! With fantastic new releases from Morag Brown & Lewis Powell-Reid, Amy Papiransky ft. KT Tunstall, A.D.A.M (Mairearad Green & Mike Vass), Griogair ft. Alan Cumming, Ewen Henderson, Cameron Mackay, Kim Carnie, Alastair Savage & Alice Allen, and Mànran.

Follow the TMF on Spotify to keep up to date with all playlists.

News

Family Storytelling during the October School Holidays

The Scottish International Storytelling Festival is the world’s largest celebration of storytelling and 2024 marks its 35th anniversary. The Festival’s programme is packed with events for families to enjoy over the October school holidays and kicks off on Saturday 12 October, ahead of the festival’s main programme (18 to 31 Oct). Family highlights include storytelling fun and adventures with Claire McNicol and Linda Williamson in Raven Jack and Lady Unicorn; dancing and stories with Moyra Banks and Fergus McNicol; tales of dragons and tunes from Lithuania and Scotland; and The Hairy Tale of Sam the Skull about a gallus Glasgow cat, told by storyteller Alastair McIver. There is also a chance for young storytellers to learn new skills in the 3-day workshop series School of Storycraft.

The festival’s 35th anniversary coincides with 35 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and its theme ‘Bridges Between’ looks at how societies can ‘build bridges’ between cultures, artists and audiences all over the world through the power of storytelling. Earlier this year storytellers and artists were invited to submit new work based on this theme, and The Bouncy Billy Goats Gruff, was chosen as one of ten new commissions for this year’s programme. The Bouncy Billy Goats Gruff is a sensory take on the tale of the three billy goats who try to cross the river to the green grass on the other side, and has been specially created by storyteller Ailie Finlay for children with additional needs and their families and friends. 

This year’s programme is also full of opportunities for families to get outdoors and enjoy the autumn sunshine. Highlights include the return of the Botanics Storytelling Day held in the Royal Botanic Garden, and Macastory’s Caddie Capers where audiences can join Ron Fairweather and Fergus McNicol on an exhilarating storytelling adventure through the streets, stairways and closes of old Edinburgh. This year the ‘capers’ will also include a newly devised Renaissance themed tour as part of Edinburgh’s 900 year celebrations.  

The festival’s main programme is based at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh, however events also take place in village halls, parks and pubs across Scotland, from Orkney and the Western Isles  to the Scottish Borders, up until the end of November.

This Scotland-wide programme, called Go Local, includes nearly 50 live storytelling events, many with a traditionally spooky theme for Halloween. Highlights include fireside ghost stories told by Eileen Budd at Balintore Castle; Spooky Tales by the Bay with Lauren Bianchi at Lochawe; supernatural stories from the otherworld told by Allison Galbraith and Beverley Casebow as part of the Wild Goose Festival in Dumfries and Galloway; and a Halloween Story Hunt in EATS Rosyth Orchard in Dunfermline with Sarah Wedderburn-Ogilvy. 

Daniel Abercrombie, Associate Director Scottish International Storytelling Festival said: “This year’s family programme builds on the success of previous years and celebrates the love that children have for hearing great stories told to them by their parents, their elders and their friends. We are delighted to welcome some of the world’s greatest storytellers to take centre stage at this festival and we really hope that families and friends will join us in taking our imaginations to other worlds.”

Tickets to each event in the programme cost a maximum of £12, with family events costing just £5 per ticket. Many events in the Go Local programme are free and for those planning on attending multiple events, the Festival Pass offers discounted tickets to many live festival events, online and at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, as well as a discount at the Scottish Storytelling Centre’s bookshop and Haggis Box Café.

Book Tickets

News

2024 Scottish International Storytelling Festival Programme Announced

Today (Wed 11 Sep) with support from the Scottish Government’s Festivals EXPO Fund and Creative Scotland, the Scottish International Storytelling Festival launched its 35th festival programme.

The Scottish International Storytelling Festival (18 to 31 October 2024) is organised by TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland) and is the world’s largest celebration of storytelling. Since it began in 1989, it has been building bridges between cultures, artists and audiences all over the world through the power of storytelling. To mark its 35th anniversary, which coincides with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the festival has chosen ‘Bridges Between’ as its programming theme, which has been the inspiration for eight new story commissions premiering during this year’s festival. It has also invited international storytellers from the Storytelling Arena in Berlin, from Ireland with the support of Culture Ireland, and from India to participate in this year’s event.

New work supported by the Scottish Government Festivals Expo Fund:

  • Mending Nets (Fri 18 Oct) – Palestinian poet and dancer Nada Shawa and Scottish storyteller Janis Mackay present stories of loss, friendship and hope, to help people attempt to retrieve an unravelled sense of identity.
  • The Bouncy Billy Goats Gruff (Sat 19 Oct) – a sensory version of the traditional tale of Billy Goats Gruff suited to children with additional needs, their families and friends with storyteller Ailie Finlay and artist Kate Leiper.
  • The Dream of Al-Andulus (19 Oct) Storytellers Sef Townsend and Inés Álvarez Villa accompanied by flamenco guitarist Danielo Olivera and Moroccan musician Omar Afif, transport audiences to mediaeval Spain.
  • The Desperate Battle of the Birds (Mon 21 Oct) Scottish storyteller James MacDonald Reid presents his version of this classic Gaelic folk tale intertwined with live electric cello music by Scottish-Korean musician Ryan Williams. Performed in English and Gaelic throughout.
  • Òran Mhòir (23 Oct) Costumes, films, field recordings, folk songs and electronic sounds come together in a multi-media performance exploring the Gaelic lore of the intertidal zone. With storyteller Eileen Budd and experimental folk duo Burd Ellen.
  • Jack and Beggar’s Island (25 Oct) The most powerful freedom story of Scottish oral tradition recreated by storytellers Jimmy Williamson, Claire McNicol and Linda Williamson connected with music from Toby Shippey and friends.
  • Kanpur: 1857! (26 Oct) From Niall Moorjani and Jonathan Oldfield comes an explosive story about the Indian Uprising and a young Indian rebel answering for the crimes of Kanpur.
  • A Wolf Shall Devour the Sun (30 Oct) Weaving myth from the Celtic Isles, Scandinavia and Siberia, storyteller Douglas Mackay takes a deep dive into the history of our troubled relations with our oldest ally. With Jemima Thewes providing shadow puppet animation and original, dreamlike soundscape.

 

This year the Festival is also part of the city’s Edinburgh 900 programme, celebrating nine centuries of story and literature in Scotland’s capital city. Festival Director Donald Smith, who is also author of the newly published Edinburgh Our Storied Town, has programmed a series of events showcasing Edinburgh through the centuries and exploring different eras of its history. These include talks on ‘chivalry’ and the knightly values of the crusades; Edinburgh’s theatres and the history of the festivals; Scotland’s golden age of literature; and a conference and ‘Lit Fandango’ with Michael Pedersen to celebrate 20 years since Edinburgh was crowned the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature.

There are also guided walks through the city to explore Edinburgh’s founding women with Claire McNicol; an after-hours tour of Surgeon’s Hall where tales of chloroform tea parties and grave robbing will be shared; and storytelling sessions at Bridgend Farmhouse, The Balm Well and Edinburgh’s Philosophy Cafe on the Southside.

For younger audiences and families there is a packed programme of events over the October school holidays kicking off on Saturday 12 October, ahead of the festival’s main programme (18 to 31 Oct). Family highlights include storytelling fun and adventures with Claire McNicol and Linda Williamson in Raven Jack and Lady Unicorn; dancing and stories with Moyra Banks and Fergus McNicol; tales of dragons and tunes from Lithuania and Scotland; and The Hairy Tale of Sam the Skull about a gallus Glasgow cat, told by storyteller Alastair McIver. There is also a chance for young storytellers to learn new skills in the 3-day workshop series School of Storycraft and plenty of events outdoors including the return of the Botanics Storytelling Day and Macastory’s Caddie Capers.

Plus, the festival’s Global Lab strand returns with four online workshops exploring intangible cultural heritage; the war in Gaza through the voices of children and young people; stories from across India hosted by the Folklogue Team; and a discussion of Scotland as a slaver nation trading in Jamaica hosted by Kate Philips, author of Bought and Sold: Scotland, Jamaica and Slavery.

Work in progress, marked as ‘In the Making’ will be shared during the festival and will include stories from Norway created and performed by Svend-Erik Engh, Hafdís Huld and Neil Sutcliffe; adventures beyond the iron curtain told by Alice Fernbank through her dad’s memoirs; a coming of age story told in the spirit of the Griot storytelling traditions from West Africa by French-Cameroonian artist Fay Guiffo; and retellings of the work of Hamish Henderson.

This year the festival runs up until Halloween and includes events when storytellers, musicians and artists will join together to share dark tales and gather for Samhain. There will also be four Tree of Memory events celebrating and honouring some of our storytelling elders including Irish and Scots storyteller Audrey Parks; Shetland storyteller Lawrence Tulloch, and Edinburgh storytellers Jack Martin and John Fee.

Throughout the festival, audiences can also enjoy relaxed Open Hearth gatherings of storytellers and musicians in the evening at the Netherbow Theatre, and post-show Festival Nights at The Waverley Bar.

Go Local returns this year, with new voices from Angus, the Highlands, and Stirling joining storytellers from all over Scotland throughout October and November to celebrate 35 years of the festival. From Orkney and the Western Isles, to the Scottish Borders, there will be nearly 50 Go Local events in this year’s programme, plus two of the festival’s commissions will tour to community halls, libraries and storytelling festivals in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Tobermory.

Finally, this year’s festival exhibition hosted at the Scottish Storytelling Centre will be Take Me To New Lands & Then Take Me Home, a series of paintings by Orcadian artist and musician Sarah McFadyen exploring the line between the worlds of fact and fable, and the place where land and sea meet.

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said:

“The Scottish International Storytelling Festival’s 35th anniversary is a magnificent achievement and demonstrates what a successful and important event it is. That’s why the Scottish Government has provided £100,000 in EXPO funding this year to support the commissions of eight performances at the festival.

“This year’s programme is incredibly diverse and there is plenty there to appeal to people of all interests, and both young and old. I am really looking forward to hearing some of the amazing stories at the Festival.”

Donald Smith, Scottish International Storytelling Festival Director said:
“In a world plagued by violence and division, the Scottish International Storytelling Festival offers bridges of imagination, fellow feeling and hope. And these qualities are inspired by a capital city that is celebrating 900 years of story, art and friendship.

Performing at today’s launch storyteller Janis Mackay and poet and dancer Nada Shawa said: “We met on the dance floor fifteen years ago. Building bridges between is at the heart of our dance practise, 5 rhythms. Bridges between each other, between the heart and the body. Between the music and the dance. And with both of us there are many opportunities for exploring bridges between.  Nada is from Gaza, Janis is from Edinburgh.  Nada uses a wheelchair. Janis does not. Nada is a poet. Janis is a storyteller. So many rich differences that we weave into this show; Mending Nets.”

The Scottish International Storytelling Festival will take place from Friday, 18 October to Thursday 31 October. Tickets to family events cost just £5 per ticket. For those planning on attending multiple events, the Festival Supporter Pass offers discounted tickets to many live festival events, online and at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, as well as a discount at the Scottish Storytelling Centre’s bookshop, Haggis Box Café and an invitation to the Festival launch event.

To purchase tickets and browse the full programme, visit sisf.org.uk